Single strand of pearls made with my great grandmother’s 3 stranded choker

 Many years ago, back in the early 1900′s, my great grandmother, Bertha Alves, was a widow bringing up her family of one son and two daughters (one of which was my grandmother, Ida Souza).  She had a boarding house in Honolulu, Hawaii and was a seamstress working from home.  One of her customers didn’t have the money to pay for the outfit that she had commissioned my grandmother to make for her so in exchange, she gave my grandmother her 3 stranded pearl necklace with the intention of returning to reclaim it when she had the cash.  For whatever reason, that never happened and the necklace was handed down to my grandmother and then my mother who has now given it to me.

The same strand of pearls, twisted into a double strand

 When I found the necklace, it was broken but because it had been hand knotted, between each pearl, there was only one pearl missing. The mother of pearl box clasp was broken as well so I carefully cut each knot to release the pearls, gave them a clean and then re-strung the pearls into one long strand, knotting in between each pearl, using the Beadalon knotting kit with its Easy knotting tool.

Tie a knot 2/3rds of the way down – ‘flapper-style’

I originally learned to knot between pearls and precious beads, by hand.  But this knotting tool makes it sooooo much faster and easier.  It took me less than an hour to re-string these pearls!  What a lovely heirloom I have which I can even wear and which I can certainly pass on to the next generation.  
I chose to string one long strand because it gives me so much flexibility.  I can wear it very long, as is the trend at the moment, as seen in the first picture.  I can wear it as a double strand if I want and I can wear it ‘flapper-style’, with a knot in the middle!!
Have a look in your mother’s or grandmother or great grandmother’s jewellery box and see what pieces are worth repairing.   Anything that has beauty and/or has a story, is worth repairing!! 

A close up to show you how dense the pearls and crystals are.  There are a lot of beads that make up this chunky, luscious bracelet. Making a Cha Cha Bracelet You will need: Taupe pearl assortment Czech clear faceted crystal assortment Silver plated head pins Clear stretchy cord Round nose pliers Clear nail varnish

1.  Thread each pearl or crystal bead onto a head pin and using round nose pliers, start at the end and roll the head pin until it touches the bead below.  As you can see in the photo, there are two rings of wire.
2. Thread the pearls and crystal beads onto the stretchy clear cord in a random order.

 3.  As you thread on more and more, as you will see from the photos above and below, the beads will cluster and squish in together.

4.  When you have enough on the stretchy cord to form a bracelet around your wrist, tie a surgeon’s knot.  Pull very tight so the knot catches and seal it with clear nail varnish.  When dry, trim excess cord.

All beads, findings and cords from Bijoux by Me.

To Make a Memory Wire Ring

1. Cut the number of coils desired using memory shears (using your wire cutters will damage the blades).
2. Form a closed loop at one end of the wire, using round nose pliers.
3. Thread on the beads as desired.
4. Finish with another closed loop to hold beads in place.
5. You can leave the loops at the ends as shown in the picture below or you can add a focal piece as shown in the two pictures above).  Thread a head pin through a small bead, then thread through one of the loops at one end of the ring.  Thread three or more beads onto the head pin (depending on the size of the beads) until it reaches the other loop at the other end of the ring.  Pass through the loop and add another small bead. Then form a loop.  Hang one or more small beads on a head pin from the loop just formed.

Here I have used a single coil which slightly overlaps at the back to make a wine glass charm.  Make each one different so that your guests will be able to identify their glass.  This one has copper seed beads with a pearl and crystal bicone dangling from the front!

All beads and findings from Bijoux by Me.  Memory wire from Beadalon.